Danville Regional Foundation Invests $9,256,945 in Grant Awards for 2008
BEST Coalition
Earned Income Tax Credit Refunds and Financial Literacy
$628,275
Danville Regional Foundation awarded $628,275 over three years to the BEST (Building Economic Success Together) Coalition. Members of the Coalition include United Way of Danville-Pittsylvania County, Pittsylvania County Community Action, Virginia Legal Aid Society, and Caswell County Senior Center. The grant will build financial literacy among low-income families in the region and increase the income of these families by expanding free tax preparation sites, which will result in increased Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) refunds. EITC provides families with additional income they can direct toward savings, education, debt reduction, or other important uses. The Coalition expects to increase the available refund amount in the region to over $13 million.
The Coalition will increase the economic base of Danville, Pittsylvania County, and Caswell County; conduct outreach activities that reach low income clients; increase awareness of EITC availability and eligibility; increase awareness of Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites; conduct classes to empower clients with the ability to e-file and gain EITC for themselves; educate people about how to develop a budget and save for future expenses; and increase awareness against predatory lenders and rapid anticipations loans for vulnerable populations.
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Danville Area
Strategic Planning and Operations
$482,500
A three year grant to the Boys & Girls Club of the Danville Area in the amount of $482,500 will provide assistance with operations in year one while a new strategic plan is being developed. Matching funds will be available to assist with operations in years two and three. The grant will provide an opportunity for the organization to stabilize its financial situation and enhance programmatic and fundraising activities for the future.
Community Foundation of the Dan River Region
Danville Regional Foundation Fund
$1,500,000
An award of $1,500,000 over a three year period was made to the Community Foundation of the Dan River Region to continue the Danville Regional Foundation Fund. The fund, which will receive a declining level of support each year, is used to make smaller grants to non-profit and governmental organizations in the City of Danville, Pittsylvania County, and Caswell County. Fifty percent of the fund is designated for healthcare and human services with the remaining fifty percent restricted for emergency relief, cultural development, education, and youth and families. A list of recipients can be found on the CFDRR website at www.cfdrr.org/news09a.pdf . Those supported as a result of this grant will have Danville Regional Foundation Fund in parenthesis at the end of the brief description.
Dan River Basin Association
Caswell County Heritage Trails Initiative
$177,400
A grant of $177,400 for one year was awarded to the Dan River Basin Association to assist Caswell County in developing the Heritage Trails Master Plan. The project also includes assistance in securing funding for implementation, trail construction, programs, and promotional guides.
Danville Community College and Piedmont Community College
Pathways for Success: A Cross-Border Collaboration
$1,850,355
Danville Regional Foundation awarded $1,850,355 over a period of 27 months to Danville Community College and Piedmont Community College to provide additional assistance to students receiving benefits from the North American Free Trade Agreement (Trade Act). The grant will allow the community colleges to develop a model program that takes the Trade Act to the next level with a custom approach to meet the individual needs of each student and therefore increase the student success rate.
Called "Pathways for Success: A Cross-Border Collaboration," the funds will be used to help Trade Act students continue their studies to earn a degree, diploma or certificate in their program of study. More than 330 students (260 at DCC and 70 at PCC) are projected to benefit from this initiative.
The specialized services the two colleges plan to provide include: supplemental unemployment needs-based payments, health insurance assistance, educational costs in career fields not covered under Trade Act regulations, Career Readiness Certification assistance, transportation, and case management and job placement support.
Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine
Start-up Costs and Stipends
$345,000
In partnership with the Danville Regional Medical Center, the Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine will create a post-graduate medical education residency program for Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine in Danville. This program will prepare medical graduates to enter fields such as family practice, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, emergency medicine, and general surgery in the Dan River Region.
DRF will fund up to $165,000 of the start-up costs associated with VCOM's development of medical training programs at DRMC. Funding to establish five $36,000 stipends to encourage physicians to remain within the Dan River Region upon successful completion of their training at DRMC is also part of the grant. The maximum total funding available through Danville Regional Foundation is $345,000
Increase Organizational Capacity
$1,400,000
Danville Regional Foundation awarded a $1.4 million grant over a five year period to the Free Clinic of Danville to increase the organization's capacity to fulfill its mission of providing health care services to the uninsured in the area. The grant will enable the organization to stabilize its current financial condition, become a model safety net provider, and pursue a developmental process that will allow it to attain a long-term increase in capacity.
Funds will be used to hire a full-time Nurse Practitioner, Executive Director, and Clinical Director. Also, the grant will provide professional assistance in the development of a long-range business plan including benchmarks for the measurement of its progress.
God's Pit Crew, Inc.
Strategic Business Plan
$50,000
Danville Regional Foundation will provide a grant of up to $50,000 to hire a highly qualified consultant to prepare a strategic business plan. The plan will identify the operating cost of the facility and ongoing revenue sources to support operation of the organization and the development of new space.
Industrial Development Authority of the City of Danville (IDA)
Recruitment of Gibbs International, Inc.for White Mill Project
$1,000,000
A $1,000,000 grant to the Industrial Development Authority of the City of Danville assisted in the recruitment of Gibbs International, Inc. and the White Mill project. The project will create 400 jobs with an average wage of $40,000 plus benefits. Gibbs International, Inc. will invest $400 million in the reutilization and renovation of the 650,000 square foot White Mill on Memorial Drive.
National Fund for Workforce Solutions
Workforce Transformation
$500,000
DRF has made a $500,000 investment that is matched by approximately $600,000 from other local funders and $300,000 from national funders. The funds will be used to facilitate innovation and transformation in the Dan River Region's workforce system.
North Theatre
Business Plan Development and Operations
$110,000
The Danville Regional Foundation will provide the North Theatre Inc. with $60,000 for core operating support while it completes a strategic business plan. Also, DRF will provide up to $50,000 to be used to hire a high quality consultant to assist in completing a professional strategic business plan.
Pittsylvania County
Development of Recreational Plan for Pittsylvania County
$12,500
A grant in the amount of $12,500 will be matched by Pittsylvania County in an equal amount and used to develop a recreational plan for the county.
Southside Business Technology Center
Expansion of Regional Business Consulting Services
$985,000
The Southside Business Technology Center received $985,000 over a five year period to expand the capacity of its regional business consulting services. The initiative will assist local entrepreneurs with new enterprise creation and existing business expansion in Danville and Pittsylvania County. The purpose of the project is to achieve measurable economic development results by providing high quality, tangible management consulting assistance to local and regional businesses and economic development entities.
University of Virginia, Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service
Survey of Social
$68,915
The Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service will conduct a Civic Involvement/Social Capital Survey with residents of Danville, Pittsylvania County and Caswell County. The survey will consist of a telephone interview questionnaire designed to assess civic involvement and social capital of a randomly stratified sample of the region's population. Information collected will be used to establish a baseline of how people in the region relate to each other and area organizations. The baseline will be used as measurement tool for future studies within the region.
Virginia Early Childhood Foundation
Planning and Technical Support to Create Smart Beginnings
$100,000
The Virginia Early Childhood Foundation will receive funding for the planning and technical support needed to create a Smart Beginnings initiative for Danville and Pittsylvania County. Smart Beginnings is the umbrella term for Virginia's early childhood initiatives that are planned and implemented both locally and state-wide to support parents and prepare families for school readiness. Smart Beginnings provides a coordinated system of public, private, and faith-based community care, education, health, and social services; expands and strengthens local childcare providers' knowledge and capacity to offer high quality experiences; and increases community awareness of the importance of the early childhood experience.
YMCA of Danville
Assess Opportunities for a New YMCA and Study Community Needs
$47,000
The YMCA will hire a research firm to assess opportunities for a new Danville YMCA and to study community needs in the City of Danville and surrounding areas. The scope of work will include an assessment of demand, location, programming and member services, marketplace, pricing, and partnerships. Another component of the study will survey community needs and general interest in non-YMCA program and services as well as general location preference.